32 birthday gift ideas for girls who don't like princesses

On her fifth birthday, Scarlett opened a birthday gift from my sister and then left the room crying. When I talked to her about it, she said with a very sad voice, “I forgot to tell Auntie Em that I don’t like princesses and fairies.” The gift was a set of paper doll and sticker activity books. Perfect for a five-year old girl. Or at least most of them.

This year, Scarlett’s number one wish — after a guinea pig which her very mean parents did not grant — was a CamelBak. Or as she called it, “a water backpack”. She was delighted to receive it from her grandparents, even though it is Raspberry in color and she had warned everyone that she didn’t want “anything pink, with princesses, fairies or Hello Kitty.”

She is currently into soccer, stuffed animals, a large plastic horse intended for American Girl-sized dolls to ride, and listening to pop music on Spotify.

I challenged our ten-thousand-Mom Facebook community to provide gift ideas for a non-girly girl, and they delivered. Here’s the list, which is ultimately a fabulous list of gifts for any 6-year old:

LEGOs
Remote control train
Nunchucks and a ninja mask. (Um, see this photo for why this was recommended by someone who knows me.)
Membership to the zoo
Adopting an animal via WWF
Terrarium
Puzzles
Basketball hoop
Piggy bank
Bike
Classic books like Where the Sidewalk Ends
Superhero cape
Goldie Blox (She received a kit. Jury’s still out. Love the mission, but I got personally frustrated with connecting the parts together.)
Tickets to a show
Stomp rocket
Horses (This means small plastic ones, I presume. I cannot afford a live horse, much less a set of them.)
Water balloon launcher
Craft kits
Gardening tools
Magna-Tiles (Great idea! Oh, how I covet these expensive magical toys!)
Soccer ball, any kind of ball but this light-up one is sure fun
Ivy and Bean books
Weighted Hula Hoop
Ladybug farm
Make-your-own book kit
Science kit
Musical instrument
Art supplies
Chess set
Bow and Arrow
A bubble machine
Butterfly kit

These are all good ideas! Got any more for us?

Author
Recent Posts

Whitney

RookieMoms.com co-founder Whitney lives with her husband, son, and daughter in the San Francisco Bay Area where she writes about parenting, crafts, and activities that moms can do with babies in tow. She and Heather also publish 510Families.com, a site for East Bay parents.